Flood alert issued in AP\'s Krishna district after Pulichintala dam gate washes away
Krishna: After one gate of Pulichintala dam washed away due to some technical problem in the early hours on Thursday, water is being released downwards hence flash floods are likely in the downwards areas, said Krishna District collector J Nivas while issuing an alert.
In the statement, the District Collector said that a technical problem arose in the 16th gate of the dam at around 3.30 AM.
With heavy inflow of water from upstream Nagarjunasagar project, the water resources authorities started lifting the crest gates of the dam one after another to release the water downstream. The dam has 24 gates and gate no. 16 has been washed away as it was unable to withstand the high pressure from the water stored in the reservoir.
The project currently has water level at 175.21 ft against the full reservoir level of 175 feet with current storage of 44.54 tmcft of water against gross capacity at FRL of 45.77 tmcft. As water from the reservoir gushes out from the gap, the authorities lifted other gates to reduce pressure on the dam. The authorities are making efforts to install a gate to stop the flow of water downstream.
Meanwhile, Prakasam barrage, located downstream to the Pulichinthala project, is receiving an inflow of 58,939 cusecs of water. The reservoir is already filled to its storage capacity of 3.07 tmcft of water and the authorities are suplusing the inflow of water as an outflow by lifting the gates of the barrage.
AP state disaster management authority and Krishna district administration sounded high alert along the course of the river at all vulnerable places advising the people to be alert and not to cross the river by any means. The authorities have also advised people not to go for a swim in the river.
"Almost five lakh cusecs of water will reach Prakasam barrage in eight to 12 hours time," said the District Collector.
"People near the river area should be alert. They should not go into the river. They should take care of their animals and boats. People in low-lying areas should go to safer places. All Tehsildars and revenue staff are alerted," said the District Collector.
This morning outflow is 2,00,804 cusecs and inflow is 1,10,000 cusecs at Pulichintala dam. The outflow at Prakasam Barrage is 33,750 cusecs while inflow is 41,717 cusecs.
